CRC - 2017 P 42
By Commissioner Schifino
schifinow-00067-17 201742__
1 A proposal to amend
2 Section 11 of Article V and create a new section in
3 Article XII of the State Constitution to specify the
4 composition of judicial nominating commissions, to
5 establish terms of membership on a commission, and to
6 require appointing authorities to the commissions to
7 consider diversity in making appointments.
8
9 Be It Proposed by the Constitution Revision Commission of
10 Florida:
11
12 Section 11 of Article V of the State Constitution is
13 amended to read:
14 ARTICLE V
15 JUDICIARY
16 SECTION 11. Vacancies.—
17 (a) Whenever a vacancy occurs in a judicial office to which
18 election for retention applies, the governor shall fill the
19 vacancy by appointing for a term ending on the first Tuesday
20 after the first Monday in January of the year following the next
21 general election occurring at least one year after the date of
22 appointment, one of not fewer than three persons nor more than
23 six persons nominated by the appropriate judicial nominating
24 commission.
25 (b) The governor shall fill each vacancy on a circuit court
26 or on a county court, wherein the judges are elected by a
27 majority vote of the electors, by appointing for a term ending
28 on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in January of the
29 year following the next primary and general election occurring
30 at least one year after the date of appointment, one of not
31 fewer than three persons nor more than six persons nominated by
32 the appropriate judicial nominating commission. An election
33 shall be held to fill that judicial office for the term of the
34 office beginning at the end of the appointed term.
35 (c) The nominations shall be made within thirty days from
36 the occurrence of a vacancy unless the period is extended by the
37 governor for a time not to exceed thirty days. The governor
38 shall make the appointment within sixty days after the
39 nominations have been certified to the governor.
40 (d) There shall be a separate judicial nominating
41 commission as provided by general law for the supreme court,
42 each district court of appeal, and each judicial circuit for all
43 trial courts within the circuit. Uniform rules of procedure
44 shall be established by the judicial nominating commissions at
45 each level of the court system. Such rules, or any part thereof,
46 may be repealed by general law enacted by a majority vote of the
47 membership of each house of the legislature, or by the supreme
48 court, five justices concurring. Except for deliberations of the
49 judicial nominating commissions, the proceedings of the
50 commissions and their records shall be open to the public.
51 (1) Each judicial nominating commission shall be composed
52 of the following:
53 a. Three members appointed by the board of governors of the
54 bar of Florida from among bar members who are actively engaged
55 in the practice of law with offices within the territorial
56 jurisdiction of the affected court, or in the district or
57 circuit;
58 b. Three electors who reside in the territorial
59 jurisdiction of the court or in the circuit appointed by the
60 governor; and
61 c. Three electors who reside in the territorial
62 jurisdiction of the court or in the circuit and who are not
63 members of the bar of Florida, selected and appointed by a
64 majority vote of the other six members of the commission.
65 (2) A justice or judge may not be a member of a judicial
66 nominating commission. A member of a judicial nominating
67 commission may hold public office other than judicial office. A
68 member of a judicial nominating commission is not eligible for
69 appointment to state judicial office for which that commission
70 has the authority to make nominations, either during such term
71 of membership or for a period of 2 years thereafter. All acts of
72 a judicial nominating commission shall be made with a
73 concurrence of a majority of its members.
74 (3) A member of a judicial nominating commission shall
75 serve a term of 4 years and is not eligible for consecutive
76 reappointment. A member of a judicial nominating commission may
77 be suspended by the governor and removed by the senate for cause
78 pursuant to uniform rules of procedure established by the
79 judicial nominating commissions consistent with Section 7,
80 Article IV of this Constitution.
81 (4) In making an appointment, the governor, the board of
82 governors of the bar of Florida, and members of the judicial
83 nominating commissions shall seek to provide appointments to the
84 commissions that reflect diversity as to ethnicity, race, and
85 gender, and provide geographic distribution of the population
86 within the territorial jurisdiction of the court for which
87 nominations will be considered. The governor, the board of
88 governors of the bar of Florida, and members of the judicial
89 nominating commissions shall also consider the adequacy of
90 representation of each county within the judicial circuit.
91
92 A new section is added to Article XII of the State
93 Constitution to read:
94 ARTICLE XII
95 SCHEDULE
96 Composition of judicial nominating commissions.—The
97 amendment to Section 11 of Article V, which relates to the
98 composition of judicial nominating commissions, shall take
99 effect July 1, 2019.